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Topic: Mix-Stir and Head Retention (Read 1750 times)

I decided to aerate after cooling to pitching temp by whipping the crap out of it. Foam out the sides of the bucket. The kind of foam I would like to see in my glass. I couldn't even make it collapse by stirring it into the wort.

Theoretically, the MixStir action could "use up" foam positive proteins. However, after using a MixStir for years, I have seen no evidence that's actually happening. I suppose it's possible that my beers have so much foam potential that losing a little doesn't matter, but at any rate I haven't had anything make me believe it's causing me problems.

I agree with Denny (big surprise there). I've been using the mix-stir to aerate for my 3 years of brewing. The owner of my local shop also uses one and has won many awards. I do not think this is a source of any head retention problems you may have. Have you had any problems or are you just wondering if you may have problems?

I agree with Denny (big surprise there). I've been using the mix-stir to aerate for my 3 years of brewing. The owner of my local shop also uses one and has won many awards. I do not think this is a source of any head retention problems you may have. Have you had any problems or are you just wondering if you may have problems?

I am just wondering. Usually I have been aerating with O2 and a stone.

I've never had great head retention but I think it's mainly because I have cheap glassware that isn't designated for beer consumption.

I've wondered about this myself. There may be some conditions under which the mix stir could cause head problems: low hop, low protein beer that is mix-stirred and force carbonated with shaking? I don't know what the limit is, but it seems that the mix stir itself isn't going to give you problems on a regular beer, i.e. there seems to be enough protein to go around.

I have had problems with head retention even without using the mix-stir. The yeast was healthy, water chemistry good, temp controlled, etc., but still would get a very low-foam beer on almost any style that was not hoppy. I noticed if these beers were cold conditioned (bottles in the fridge for >4 weeks) that the head formation and retention got a lot better. Note: this was never a problem with hoppy American style beers, those alpha acids do wonders for foam formation and retention. I can't make any conclusions from this anecdotal evidence, but it may be something to try if you're having head retention problems.

- pour one bottle though the funnel into the empty soda bottle. Make sure it foams a lot but not out of the bottle.- squeeze out any air and attach carbonator cap.- add some CO2 and let foam settle- shake up violently to re-carbonate the beer. Multiple iterations of decarbonating and carbonating are possible to increase the amount of foaming that the beer went through.- finally carbonate the beer back to its initial carbonation level and let the foam settle

- take 2 tall glasses, I use Koelsch glasses for that, and with a pour down the center raise a tall foamy head all the way to the rim- do this for both beers and compare how long it takes until you can see the beer surface.

If there is a big difference there might be something to this but if the times are about the same we should not worry too much.

I perform this head stability test when I evaluate my beers. Usually it takes about 6-7 min for the head to fall back.